Sunday, August 12, 2012

My son had an early appointment and was spending the night. We stayed late at his house to watch gymnastics and came home around 11:00. As we pulled into the driveway, he pointed to the breakfast room window. The screen was part way off. Then we saw that the door between the drive way and the patio was unlocked. Even worse, the sliding glass door from the patio to my bedroom, the one door that doesn't have a sensor to trigger the alarm, was all the way open.

My first thought? The cats. I started in, and Michael said, "Get out. Call the police."

Within minutes three constables arrived. They checked around and found no one inside. "You can come in now and check the rooms," one constable said. Terrfied of what I would see...or wouldn't see... I followed him inside. The living room looked just as it always does. The TV was in place, the quilt I'd fallen in love with and just had to have hung on the wall, and Toby, my tuxedo cat, who is the first one to try to escape if the door is open, ambled into the living room. In my bedroom Tiki, the tabby cat, crawled out from under my bed. Thank goodness, My jewelry chest hadn't been touched, the flimsily locked drawer in my closet was still locked. What was missing? My laptop, of course.

Not the printer, not the scanner, just the laptop. and my Kindle, and strangely, a handpainted vase from the shelf in my living room and a Murrano glass bird from my coffee table. Two crystal birds beside it weren't touched. Gifts for girlfriends? Early Christmas shopping? At least they had good taste. And oh, yes, an old sculpture of a fisherman that I once bought in Mexico and kept on my patio table was gone, or so I thought. My daughter found it the next day under a bush.

The bad news is I had to buy a new laptop. My insurance has too large a deductible to cover my loss. But the good news is, I have all my filles back. Thank you, Mozy Pro.

So what have I learned from this scary experience? Always, always have a remote backup. It's worth every penny for peace of mind. If all my files had gone with the computer, I'd have been devastated.

To extrapolate from this experience: you should have backup plans, not just for laptops, but for life. Things don't always go as expected or planned. What do you do in that case? What if your job doesn't work out? You don't love the career you'd pinned your hopes on? Your spouse dies (as mine did) or becomes ill? The stock market crashes? You should have a Plan B waiting in the wings?

Thelma, that's powerful! Back up your life... hmmmm, I need to think about that! I am so glad that you are okay and all is well. That guy probably didn't even know it was a Murano or what a Murano is worth, he probably just took things he liked. How awful. My sister had a break-in once and their sense of safety has never been quite the same - compromised. You could do a lot of writing about that episode. What a time you've had with things! Thinking of you from the Midwest ;0)

I'm the mother of three, grandmother of two, slave of two demanding cats. I've been a widow for four years and have taught resource courses for widows and widowers. I've written romance novels. See my website at www.eclectics.com/ lornamichaels. Currently I'm working on a memoir titled Stumbing Through the Dark.
More about me: Born in Austin, TX
Favorite color: purple
Favorite song: The Wind Beneath My Wings (hear it as you read this blog)
Like to: read, cook, travel (last big trip was to Spain) write, learn new things.
Hate to: exercise